1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to electric vehicles and to electric vehicle charge stations.
2. Description of Related Art
Batteries in electric vehicles need to be recharged after use. Stations which recharge these batteries are rapidly being installed. Some are accessible to the public; others are not.
Drivers of electric vehicles need to know the locations of nearby vehicle charge stations which are publicly accessible. Databases are being created to help keep track of this information. However, it may be difficult for these databases to keep current in view of the rapid pace at which new vehicle charge stations are being built.
Vehicle can be designed to automatically report the location of a vehicle charge station to a central database when they are being charged at the vehicle charge station. An example of technology which can facilitate such reporting is described in U.S. provisional patent application 61/388,799, entitled “Automated System for Indexing Electric Vehicle Charge Stations,” filed Oct. 1, 2010, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. However, this automated approach can result in a database which does not distinguish between vehicle charge stations which are public and those which are not. Containing such a mixture of information can significantly reduce the utility of such a database.